Lori Acken, Author at StayTuned Magazine

The Night Of Thrills On HBO

June 24, 2016 Lori Acken

The Night Of Part 1 is available exclusively on HBO GO, HBO NOW and HBO On Demand beginning Friday, June 24. The series premieres on HBO Sunday, July 10 at 9pm. Nasir Khan thought he was about to have the best night of his life. Invited to a party by the popular jock he tutors, the doe-eyed college kid begs a pal to drive him there and, when his bud backs out, snatches the family cab instead. It’s late. Dad’s already turned in. What harm could come? Plenty. And that is the heart of HBO’s obsession-worthy limited series The Night […]

When Does Return To Amish Come Back on TLC?

June 14, 2016 Lori Acken

Return to Amish fans, it’s been a long wait, but Abe, Rebecca, Mary, Jeremiah, Kate — and a newly sober Sabrina! — return for a brand-new, drama-filled season on Sunday, July 10 at 9/8CT on TLC. And this time the gang is headed back to New York City, where they first met one another (or not, depending on who you believe) as cast members of Breaking Amish. As she seeks to regain custody of her toddler daughter Oakley after battling addiction, Sabrina convinces her pals to reunite in the Big Apple to visit Kate, rekindle their friendships and remember the good times (and not-so-good ones) that turned […]

Wrecked — Lost Meets Laughs in New TBS Comedy

June 9, 2016 Lori Acken

Wrecked premieres with back-to-back episodes Tuesday, June 14, at 10/9CT on TBS. Sure, Lost was some seriously iconic television, but it was also just so … earnest. For their new TBS comedy Wrecked, creators Jordan and Justin Shipley also bring down a plane on a deserted isle, but swap out the supernatural navel-gazing for a whole bunch of funny. In the half-hour laugher, which filmed in Puerto Rico, a goofy batch of Thailand-bound travelers must learn to live with one another — and without modern comforts — post-plane crash. Among your companions on this ill-fated trip: • About A Boy‘s Zach Cregger […]

UnREAL Lifetime’s Firebrand Dramedy Tackles Race and Men’s Rights in Season 2

June 6, 2016 Lori Acken

When Lifetime’s UnREAL premiered last summer, critics and audiences fell hard for the bold, Peabody-winning dramedy’s willingness to grab Bachelor-esque style programming by the you-know-whats and guide it not-so-gently to a good long look in the mirror. Equal parts social commentary and whip-smart entertainment, Season 1 took on matters of mental health, body image, feminism, fidelity and sexuality — and what people will do to one another for the sake of a buck — with searing style. • MORE: What you need to know about UnREAL Season 2 For Season 2, UnREAL creators Marti Noxon and Sarah Gertrude Shapiro opted to steer […]

5 Questions With Maddie Ziegler of So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation

May 29, 2016 Lori Acken

Thirteen-year-old Maddie Ziegler found fame as the breakout star of Lifetime’s Dance Moms, on which she was spotted by enigmatic pop star Sia. The camera-shy singer made Ziegler the focal point of her stunning video for “Chandelier” (two more followed) and in short order, other TV shows came calling. Ziegler tested her acting chops with guest spots in Pretty Little Liars, Austin & Ally and Ricky, Nicky, Dicky and Dawn and began to ponder a career outside the dance studio. • MORE: Dance Moms star Maddie Ziegler talks So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation On Monday, she joins […]

Outcast on Cinemax Patrick Fugit Is Obsessed With the Possessed in Robert Kirkman Thriller

May 26, 2016 Lori Acken

Fans of The Walking Dead learned quickly that what makes for a thrilling story in the pages of Robert Kirkman’s comic books can be even more spine-tingling and addictive onscreen. Kirkman’s newest adaptation, the Cinemax chiller Outcast, is no exception. • Watch the Outcast premiere FREE on YouTube now! Almost Famous star Patrick Fugit plays Kyle Barnes, a troubled young man whose horrific childhood experience with demonic possession follows him into adulthood, crushing his hope for a peaceful life with his now-estranged wife and daughter. But a chance encounter with his childhood preacher, the equally troubled Reverend Anderson (Philip Glenister, Life […]

Animal Kingdom: Ellen Barkin is One Bad Mother in TNT’s Sexy New Drama

May 26, 2016 Lori Acken

Ellen Barkin is 62. Sixty. Two. Trust me, you’re going to need to remind yourself of that mere moments into Animal Kingdom, TNT’s scorching, action-packed new drama based on the critically acclaimed 2010 Australian film starring Guy Pearce, Jacki Weaver and Blindspot’s Sullivan Stapleton. Barkin — all tousled locks, burnished skin and plump pout — also rocks skyscraper heels, skinny jeans and plunging tanks like a boss as Janine “Smurf” Cody, matriarch of a crime family that is literally family. Though Smurf sits out the actual heists that have made her crew filthy rich, she rules her grown sons — […]

New to On Demand: The Finest Hours

May 24, 2016 Lori Acken

Of course, Disney’s The Finest Hours begs instant comparisons to 2000’s Oscar-nominated George Clooney film The Perfect Storm. Hours, too, is based on a real-life nautical nightmare. It, too, features a bleak New England setting. Deadly storm. Handsome hero. Swarthy, seafaring types barking brave declarations. A pretty, plucky woman back home refusing to give up hope. And dazzler special effects that may leave you a landlubber for life. But where Storm’s seafarers were fisherman caught unawares, The Finest Hours doubles the jeopardy, focusing its story on the converging fates of two imperiled vessels and the men aboard them. The larger […]

ABC 2016-17 schedule: The Middle moves, Scandal goes midseason, Kiefer Sutherland gets presidential and more! (VIDEO)

May 17, 2016 Lori Acken

Channing Dungey, Paul Lee’s successor as president of ABC Entertainment, unveiled the network’s 2016-2017 programming slate and lineup today at Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, in New York City. Quantico’s Priyanka Chopra and Jake McLaughlin led an opening montage that featured the pair grilling the network’s current stars about where “it” begins. It being great entertainment. Which, of course, is ABC. Chopra then appeared in a live song-and-dance number, followed by the requisite network cheerleading from Geri Wang, President of ABC ad sales, and Ben Sherwood, president of ABC/Disney Television Group. Then Dungey took over, telling the assembly that she has loved […]

OutDaughtered sneak peek: Hitting the road! (VIDEO)

May 17, 2016 Lori Acken

Tonight on TLC’s OutDaughtered, Adam and Danielle Busby find out that leaving the house with six kids is a whole lot tougher than flying the coop with just one. • RELATED: OutDaughtered on TLC: What’s it like to bring up five babies and a big girl? We ask Danielle Busby! Prepping for a much-anticipated family day at the home of Danielle’s sister Ashley, the pair discover that just getting out the door with enough diapers, wipes, bottles and places to park baby butts is a major undertaking — never mind getting everyone (and everything) loaded into the van. But, in an earlier interview, Danielle told us her helpful hubby mastered […]